Music, Style & Culture

Martha Marcy May Marlene

A clever, intimate and disturbing exercise in paranoia with a fiercely intelligent debut from Elizabeth Olsen.

Released in cinemas 3rd February 2012.

A hit at last year's Sundance, Martha Marcy May Marlene finally arrives in the UK with a blistering debut performance from Elizabeth Olsen.

The young actress is a commanding presence as she navigates the viewer through Sean Durkin's unsettling psychological drama. The first-time writer and director has solid control over his deliberately disorientating film, following a young woman's post-traumatic stress after escaping the clutches of a cult.

Dreamily filmed in a green and pleasant upstate New York, a confused and terrified Martha (Olsen) is taken in by her older sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson) and brother-in-law Ted (Hugh Dancy). The film's unique selling point is the boldness of its structure, as Martha's memories bleed into her waking life. Cleverly shot to make the viewer question the current location, the film switches from Lucy and Ted's luxurious lakeside home to the cult's remote and ramshackle farm in the woods.

With hints of a troubled upbringing, Martha's recruitment into the caring, sharing family unit run by de facto leader Patrick (John Hawkes) is simple. The wirey and taut Hawkes echoes his sinister, Oscar-nominated turn in last year's Winter's Bone, with a manipulative edge. There's nothing here that hasn't been seen in any depiction of a cult leader, but Durkin is wise not to overcook the clichéd cult lifestyle. The sexual coercion and abuse is present, and frequently distressing, but Patrick's favouring of Martha is handled in discreet episodes of manipulation, that mirror Lucy and Ted's forceful recovery.

These scenes of vulnerability play alongside Martha accustomising to the "real world" (Durkin isn't that subtle when implying that it's every bit as constricting as a cult). An uncomfortable debate around the family dinner table lays bare just how naive Martha is; it highlights Olsen's perceptive portrayal, which is imbued with the bluntness of a child and the mixed-up anger of a teenager. The actress gives a brave, raw and sensitive performance with hidden depths - electrifying and unpredictable.

The vagueness of Durkin's film won't be for everyone, and the abrupt ending (a perfect depiction of Martha's state of mind) can be seen as unsatisfying. However, as an exercise in paranoia Martha Marcy May Marlene (the title will roll off the tongue once you've seen in - not handy for the ticket office though) is a clever, intimate and disturbing piece. A fascinating look at a troubled figure and her lack of identity, it features one of the most fiercely intelligent acting debuts in years.

Rating: 8/10